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aimeecav's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
bubbleblob888's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
stephh's review against another edition
4.0
This book really surpassed my expectations. It sounded so cliche, but it was a great teen novel with lots of 3D characters and a plot that kept you guessing.
When Hannah finds out she's pregnant, she knows exactly who the father is (despite what people are saying about her). The problem is, she can't tell anyone, and he's not interested either. Aaron's just moved to Hannah's school to escape a past he wants to forget, and when he realises Hannah needs someone to step up and pretend to be a father to her unborn baby, he volunteers.
I love the dual perspective of Hannah and Aaron in the book, and the fact that they are both such complex characters that really do develop across the chapters. I found myself totally wrapped up in wanting to know who the father of Hannah's baby was, and the history that Aaron was running away from, which made the book a real page-turner for me.
When Hannah finds out she's pregnant, she knows exactly who the father is (despite what people are saying about her). The problem is, she can't tell anyone, and he's not interested either. Aaron's just moved to Hannah's school to escape a past he wants to forget, and when he realises Hannah needs someone to step up and pretend to be a father to her unborn baby, he volunteers.
I love the dual perspective of Hannah and Aaron in the book, and the fact that they are both such complex characters that really do develop across the chapters. I found myself totally wrapped up in wanting to know who the father of Hannah's baby was, and the history that Aaron was running away from, which made the book a real page-turner for me.
sophielmu's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this. Absolutely adored it. I want more of Hannah and Aaron please. PLEASE.
jara_brooke's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. I loved the way it was written, divided into short passages of insight between Hannah and Aaron. The writing was phenomenal and the story was gripping. I did think the identity of the father was unsurprising. The ending was also definitely abrupt, leaving many loose ends. But still a fast, remarkable read!
cityofstarlight_library's review against another edition
3.0
REVIEW WILL ALSO BE POSTED AT THE HONEST BOOKCLUB
--
I want to start by saying that I felt really weird reading this book at work. A book with so much sperm on it, people were looking at the cover like 'what are you reading?'. Except from the sperm, it has a nice bunch of colours on it though.
Anyway, moving swiftly from the cover, I had to rate this one 3.5 stars. The reason I didn't rate it any higher was because I felt that it was a bit slow. Is that just me being impatient to find out what's wrong with Aaron? Probably, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why. The reason why he is how he is was quite unexpected though. When we got hints about his old best friend, I was understanding that something had happened to him but that? Poor guy. He's beating himself up over something that wasn't entirely his fault, and I felt so sorry for him. I did get a shock sometimes when he really stood up for himself, he had a bit of an angry side and it did come across as a bit scary, as some people shied away from him after that. Go Aaon!
He was quite an interesting character to read about, he was always keeping himself to himself, he wouldn't draw too much attention (well, until he agrees to pretend to be the baby daddy), but what he did was a very nice thing to do. He hardly knows this girl at that point, he sacrifices his reputation at a new school after leaving the old one on bad terms, and only to have his name dragged through the mud again. For Hannah. That's nice, and quite brave, and that's real friendship. They're all a bunch of animals at this school, seriously.
And speaking of the people at the school, Katie..
seriously, what was this girls problem? She seems to have this need to be popular and to get with the "in crowd" only to have it fuck up for her. Well, it serves her right. You can't treat people like that. How she was with Hannah after being best friends for so long was just tragic. Leaking private conversations with the school, gossiping, starting fights and just being Captain Bitch. It did, at times, seem a bit over the top, I cant believe she'd do so many nasty things for such a petty reason really, another reason the rating was lowered a bit. I wasn't so sure it felt realistic. Why did she make her life such misery like that? Katie was a bit much. I do love how the "popular" people even ditched her and called her out on being a total asshat. Serves her right...
And them we have arsehole number 2 - Jason. Or Jay, whichever name you want to call him. He was just...urghhh. I felt his reaction to some things were quite authentic to how a guy his age would respond. As an important person in her life and as a family member, he was just a pile of wank. Unsupportive, obnoxious and selfish.
#appropriategif
As a person who currently works in a nursing home for the elderly, I adored the moments in the care home. Aaron is so kind and selfless that he decides to spend his spare time at the old folks home, befriending a gentleman called Neville. Who is awesome. I love that guy, and considering they weren't related, they had a wonderful relationship together. Banter, laughs, and giving great advice and companionship to each other, as they both certainly needed it.
Hannah and Aaron's relationship was just wonderful though. They did have their ups and downs, a lot of friends do, but they ended up with this unbreakable bond and complete trust in each other. This book wasn't very romantic, it was more on the friendship side, and that was refreshing. Aaron was going through some tough things in his life and yet he still did as much as he could for this girl. Supportive, kind, caring and yeah, at times he can be frustrating and reserved, but he has his reasons. I think romance would of put a strain on the relationship, they worked very well as best friends and it was enough. I don't think either of them wanted that, they just wanted someone to be there for them, they needed support and they needed someone to confide in.
I did like Hannah, at the beginning, she has a reputation at the school, she has this image of a girl who gets about and someone who's "easy" but I do love how things come together for her. She really grew as a character. I think being pregnant matured her and she realised how important family and the people around her were. The social interactions were great, it seemed quite believable and it reminds me of my time at secondary school. There's always a pregnant one for a start...
People do give her a hard time and I am pleased about how she handled it, how she decided to keep the baby and go through with it. It's a tough decision to make, it's a complete life-changer and she's only fifteen years old. She's brave and she really does stand up for herself and won't take anymore crap. She used to but she decides that enough is enough. Good for you, Han! I like characters who grow a backbone.
It was interesting to see a book about teenage pregnancy, it's not something that I've seen much in the bookshop. We sometimes do see people having people having kids at a young age, and yeah it does make us think that they're throwing their life away. Kids having kids. it's frown upon but it still happens. We judge them but we don't know their situation. We don't really know what they're thinking and we don't know what their plans are, and this book was a good insight on how a girl in that position is thinking. One little mistake and one assumption "I'll just pull out" or "won't happen on my first time" and BAM! You're taught a lesson. You can still get pregnant.
Overall, this book is filled with emotions, drama, gossip, humour, important relationships between family and friends, and...a pregnant teenager. I think a lot of people will enjoy this one. Yeah at times it does seem a bit slow, I did find myself looking to see how much I had left sometimes, but keep going. It's quite a good read!
--
I want to start by saying that I felt really weird reading this book at work. A book with so much sperm on it, people were looking at the cover like 'what are you reading?'. Except from the sperm, it has a nice bunch of colours on it though.
Anyway, moving swiftly from the cover, I had to rate this one 3.5 stars. The reason I didn't rate it any higher was because I felt that it was a bit slow. Is that just me being impatient to find out what's wrong with Aaron? Probably, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why. The reason why he is how he is was quite unexpected though. When we got hints about his old best friend, I was understanding that something had happened to him but that? Poor guy. He's beating himself up over something that wasn't entirely his fault, and I felt so sorry for him. I did get a shock sometimes when he really stood up for himself, he had a bit of an angry side and it did come across as a bit scary, as some people shied away from him after that. Go Aaon!
He was quite an interesting character to read about, he was always keeping himself to himself, he wouldn't draw too much attention (well, until he agrees to pretend to be the baby daddy), but what he did was a very nice thing to do. He hardly knows this girl at that point, he sacrifices his reputation at a new school after leaving the old one on bad terms, and only to have his name dragged through the mud again. For Hannah. That's nice, and quite brave, and that's real friendship. They're all a bunch of animals at this school, seriously.
And speaking of the people at the school, Katie..
seriously, what was this girls problem? She seems to have this need to be popular and to get with the "in crowd" only to have it fuck up for her. Well, it serves her right. You can't treat people like that. How she was with Hannah after being best friends for so long was just tragic. Leaking private conversations with the school, gossiping, starting fights and just being Captain Bitch. It did, at times, seem a bit over the top, I cant believe she'd do so many nasty things for such a petty reason really, another reason the rating was lowered a bit. I wasn't so sure it felt realistic. Why did she make her life such misery like that? Katie was a bit much. I do love how the "popular" people even ditched her and called her out on being a total asshat. Serves her right...
And them we have arsehole number 2 - Jason. Or Jay, whichever name you want to call him. He was just...urghhh. I felt his reaction to some things were quite authentic to how a guy his age would respond. As an important person in her life and as a family member, he was just a pile of wank. Unsupportive, obnoxious and selfish.
#appropriategif
As a person who currently works in a nursing home for the elderly, I adored the moments in the care home. Aaron is so kind and selfless that he decides to spend his spare time at the old folks home, befriending a gentleman called Neville. Who is awesome. I love that guy, and considering they weren't related, they had a wonderful relationship together. Banter, laughs, and giving great advice and companionship to each other, as they both certainly needed it.
Hannah and Aaron's relationship was just wonderful though. They did have their ups and downs, a lot of friends do, but they ended up with this unbreakable bond and complete trust in each other. This book wasn't very romantic, it was more on the friendship side, and that was refreshing. Aaron was going through some tough things in his life and yet he still did as much as he could for this girl. Supportive, kind, caring and yeah, at times he can be frustrating and reserved, but he has his reasons. I think romance would of put a strain on the relationship, they worked very well as best friends and it was enough. I don't think either of them wanted that, they just wanted someone to be there for them, they needed support and they needed someone to confide in.
I did like Hannah, at the beginning, she has a reputation at the school, she has this image of a girl who gets about and someone who's "easy" but I do love how things come together for her. She really grew as a character. I think being pregnant matured her and she realised how important family and the people around her were. The social interactions were great, it seemed quite believable and it reminds me of my time at secondary school. There's always a pregnant one for a start...
People do give her a hard time and I am pleased about how she handled it, how she decided to keep the baby and go through with it. It's a tough decision to make, it's a complete life-changer and she's only fifteen years old. She's brave and she really does stand up for herself and won't take anymore crap. She used to but she decides that enough is enough. Good for you, Han! I like characters who grow a backbone.
It was interesting to see a book about teenage pregnancy, it's not something that I've seen much in the bookshop. We sometimes do see people having people having kids at a young age, and yeah it does make us think that they're throwing their life away. Kids having kids. it's frown upon but it still happens. We judge them but we don't know their situation. We don't really know what they're thinking and we don't know what their plans are, and this book was a good insight on how a girl in that position is thinking. One little mistake and one assumption "I'll just pull out" or "won't happen on my first time" and BAM! You're taught a lesson. You can still get pregnant.
Overall, this book is filled with emotions, drama, gossip, humour, important relationships between family and friends, and...a pregnant teenager. I think a lot of people will enjoy this one. Yeah at times it does seem a bit slow, I did find myself looking to see how much I had left sometimes, but keep going. It's quite a good read!
angelicasreads's review against another edition
1.0
Real rating 2.5
So. What to say?
I have been in a reading slump for a while now. Like a six months kind of while. With finals coming up I needed a good book. I had recently finished [b:An Ember in the Ashes|20560137|An Ember in the Ashes|Sabaa Tahir|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957944s/20560137.jpg|39113604] by [a:Sabaa Tahir|7770873|Sabaa Tahir|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390501945p2/7770873.jpg] which is an awesome dystopian fantasy and it was absolutely amazing! But the moment I finished the slump came over me once more. I was hoping this book would make me happy. That bit would allow me to get back on track with my reading but it didn’t.
When I read the synopsis I thought it was right up my alley. I was expecting it to be really good and I expected to love it. The concept was great. The guy pretending to be the father? Awesome. But then I actually read it.
I had a lot of problems with the story. There was a lot of slut shaming in this book. There were also a lot of terrible examples of women and I did not like it. Every girl in this book was terrible. They were smutty and mean and all those horrible things. Even the main charter, Hannah was a pretty terrible person. Then there was Aaron. He had a tragic past. He was a decent guy. I did not like him. He was bland and forgettable. There was nothing memorable about him or his tragic story. The other characters weren’t good either.
The plot was slow and dumb. I didn’t like it. The one thing I did enjoy was the plot twist because I did not see that coming. I was not expecting that twist. Not because it was so well kept and hidden and awesome but because it was not something that should ever happen and no normal person would have guessed it. So I guess I didn’t really enjoy it, I was just in shock.
Another problem I had was the loose ends. There was unfinished business in this book and I didn’t like it. There were questions left unanswered and mysteries unsolved. I like good concrete endings in stand alones, especially in contemporary. This book did not have it. What happens after the baby? What do they do next? What is going to happen with Aaron? Is he going to be part of the family? I don’t know! The whole book was about her being pregnant and it ends feeling all relieved and accomplished when the child is born. Like, I have never been pregnant but I assume it’s hard. Either way I think that having the kid inside of you is easy compared to having the kid out and having to care for it. I don’t think there was any actual resolution, if anything there are just more conflicts at hand.
In the end I was just disappointed.
So. What to say?
I have been in a reading slump for a while now. Like a six months kind of while. With finals coming up I needed a good book. I had recently finished [b:An Ember in the Ashes|20560137|An Ember in the Ashes|Sabaa Tahir|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957944s/20560137.jpg|39113604] by [a:Sabaa Tahir|7770873|Sabaa Tahir|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390501945p2/7770873.jpg] which is an awesome dystopian fantasy and it was absolutely amazing! But the moment I finished the slump came over me once more. I was hoping this book would make me happy. That bit would allow me to get back on track with my reading but it didn’t.
When I read the synopsis I thought it was right up my alley. I was expecting it to be really good and I expected to love it. The concept was great. The guy pretending to be the father? Awesome. But then I actually read it.
I had a lot of problems with the story. There was a lot of slut shaming in this book. There were also a lot of terrible examples of women and I did not like it. Every girl in this book was terrible. They were smutty and mean and all those horrible things. Even the main charter, Hannah was a pretty terrible person. Then there was Aaron. He had a tragic past. He was a decent guy. I did not like him. He was bland and forgettable. There was nothing memorable about him or his tragic story. The other characters weren’t good either.
The plot was slow and dumb. I didn’t like it. The one thing I did enjoy was the plot twist because I did not see that coming. I was not expecting that twist. Not because it was so well kept and hidden and awesome but because it was not something that should ever happen and no normal person would have guessed it. So I guess I didn’t really enjoy it, I was just in shock.
Another problem I had was the loose ends. There was unfinished business in this book and I didn’t like it. There were questions left unanswered and mysteries unsolved. I like good concrete endings in stand alones, especially in contemporary. This book did not have it. What happens after the baby? What do they do next? What is going to happen with Aaron? Is he going to be part of the family? I don’t know! The whole book was about her being pregnant and it ends feeling all relieved and accomplished when the child is born. Like, I have never been pregnant but I assume it’s hard. Either way I think that having the kid inside of you is easy compared to having the kid out and having to care for it. I don’t think there was any actual resolution, if anything there are just more conflicts at hand.
In the end I was just disappointed.